Former National Security Agency boss Michael Hayden denounced defenders of Edward Snowden as “nihilists, anarchists, activists, Lulzsec, Anonymous, twentysomethings who haven’t talked to the opposite sex in five or six years.” Hey, I’m no nihilist! And, though I am still a shy country boy, it’s been a long time since I was accused of being […]
Tag Archives | Wiretapping
Best Thumbnail Explanation of NSA Spying Scandal
The Onion has the best explanation I have yet seen on how the National Security Agency surveils average Americans. But to be honest, I’m not sure if “Step 9” is accurate. From The Onion: Step 1: NSA goes to Gmail, guesses “puppy64” as the password for all usernames, and successfully gains access to over 5 […]
New Terrorist Suspect Definition: “Someone searching the web for suspicious stuff”
The Guardian’s scoop today on the National Security Agency’s XKeyscore included documents that showed the “standards” that NSA employees can use to target Americans and others to vacuum up their email and all their Internet-related information. Page 14 of the documents reveals one of the new definitions of terrorist suspect: “someone searching the web for […]
Podcast of My Interview with Brian Wilson on Mark Twain, Julius Caesar, and Obama
The podcast is now online from the Libertas Media interview today. Brian Wilson and I had a rattlin’ good exchange about Obama, Mark Twain, Julius Caesar – with a triple heaping on the National Security Agency and Edward Snowden. You can download or listen to the @40 minute podcast by clicking here.
Three Cheers for Justin Amash and the Anti-Spying Coalition
Three cheers for Rep. Justin Amash and colleagues who came within a whisker of reining in the NSA’s illegal surveillance tonight in Congress! (Final vote on his amendment was 217 to 205). This is a huge moral victory – and the sign of civil liberty victories to come. And the floor debate helped reveal […]
N.Y. Times Snares Secret FISA Court Decrees – Fresh Hell for NSA and Obama
The New York Times published a long article today on secret rulings by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The article describes the FISA court as “almost a parallel Supreme Court” which has cast aside traditional understandings of privacy and the Fourth Amendment. Reading between the lines, it is clear that NYT has the actual decisions…. […]
Fiery Thomas Drake Speech from July 4 NSA Rally
Kevin Gosztola has posted the NBC video of Thomas Drake’s excellent speech from yesterday’s anti-surveillance rally. Here’s the spiel: